Thursday, 26 October 2006

IBM, Citrix Preps 'Project Kent' Disaster Recovery Service

25 percent of companies say they are 'very prepared' to reconnect the workforce in the face of a major workforce disruption. They're simply not equipped to connect dispersed employees to the business tools they need to work away from the office, such as e-mail, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relations Management (CRM) systems, and end-user data, as per the study conducted by Forrester Consulting. Citrix Systems and IBM are jointly planning a new offering, code-named 'Project Kent,' that aims to allow dispersed workers to connect to applications, data and people even when they can’t get to the office. The new solution will simplify the process by using USB sticks, the companies said.

The Forrester study indicated that a 5000-person enterprise would suffer a USD 1.36 million productivity loss as a result of a three-day workforce disruption. And, a recent survey of Disaster Recovery Journal readers reported that it takes up to five days for the workforce to return to normalcy after an event. In short, a workforce disruption brings about substantial financial losses.

"IBM's new Virtual Workplace Continuity service product helps clients focus on the human side of business continuity to ensure that employees can still remain productive when they cannot get to the workplace," said Philippe Jarre, global vice president, IBM Business Continuity and Resiliency Services. "IBM and Citrix's new solution directly supports the goals of the service — to help employees, partners and suppliers to communicate, collaborate and access vital applications and data in the face of a workforce disruption."